CALF_News_April_May_2020

6 CALF News • April | May 2020 • www.calfnews.net COVER STORY Trends International Livestock Congress Beef Industry's Maligned Carbon Footprint By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor F rank Mitloehner is mad, sometimes fuming. If you spread manure about the beef industry’s carbon footprint, he’ll scoop up your mess with the facts. Blame greenhouse gases (GHG) on bovine, he’ll corral your Beyond Beef bias with the truth. Mitloehner, a professor at the Univer- sity of California at Davis, has become the anti-beef crowd’s nastiest nightmare. Twitter is his game and he has learned to master the social media means of communication. After only a year and a half on Twitter, his tweets manage to make 3 million impressions a month. And his message hits environmentalists and food activists where it hurts. He keynoted the International Live- stock Congress in March during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a few days before the entire event was shut down early due to coronavirus fears. The congress brought together producers, animal health professionals, govern- ment officials, domestic and foreign ag students and other allied industries. Mitloehner rebuffed two allegations spouted by “our friends [anti-beef activ- ists],” as he called them – false claims that land used for livestock growth should be planted in food for people, and one in which cattle emit huge amounts of GHG. “I decided for myself that enough is enough,” he said.“A month ago The New Yorker [magazine] reported that eating 4 pounds of beef has the same GHG impact as a transatlantic flight. “Does anybody here believe that? When you put out stuff that is not factual, I will throw my scientific weight into the arena and rebuff it.” Mitloehner contended that climate change is occurring, as it always has. “Some question whether human activity is driving the changing climate. Most scientists say it does,” he said, adding that agriculture has been deeply affected, through drought in some areas and too much rain in others. Methane hot air GHG, namely methane, CO 2 and nitrous oxide, form a blanket over the Earth’s atmosphere to control global temperatures. CO 2 has a lifespan of thousands of years.“But that’s not true for methane,” Mitloehner said, pointing out what animal activists raise a stink about.“It has a lifespan of 10 years. After 10 years, methane is destroyed. That is hugely important.” He noted there are about 560 trillion grams of methane being produced by fossil fuel production and use, as well as biomass burning, landfills and waste and ag production. However, about 550 trillion grams of methane are destroyed by oxidation. Frank Mitloehner, UC Davis animal science professor and master of tweeting beef’s message on having a low carbon footprint, sees more scientific and public understanding of beef’s roll as an upcycler. LEFT: While CO 2 GHG fossil fuels remain in Earth’s atmosphere virtually forever, methane emitted from cattle has only a 10-year lifespan. Courtesy Frank Mitloehner